


Call Your Bluff

by tobeconspicuous



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Gambling, Lust at First Sight, M/M, Undercover, Undercover Sonny Carisi, vague smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 17:40:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13839759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobeconspicuous/pseuds/tobeconspicuous
Summary: Now Sonny had a name for the mysterious man with the handsome face - Rafael Barba.





	Call Your Bluff

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Castle by Slum Sociable
> 
> Thanks to the mysterious anonymous beta fairy for the beta, much appreciated.
> 
> Also to the mystical naming fairy who gave this fic a name.
> 
> Let me know if I missed a tag.
> 
> Comments/Kudos/A wave is always welcomed, so please leave some.

To play in the Underground you needed to be invited, then play a ‘friendly’ game with one of the senior members. Once they could see that you were an average player who had deep pockets you were invited to a private club only known as the Underground where you were expected to lose more than you won, otherwise there would be trouble.

The Underground itself was unassuming, located at the back of a run down print shop, like something out of a movie. When you finally made it past security you were greeted with a free drink, a gesture of goodwill, before you were invited to play at one of the many red velveteen topped tables bathed with the dim light of a fancy filament bulb. Cigar smoke hung thick in the air, creating a foggy haze that made the room appear hazy.

The stench made Sonny feel ill though he tried not to show it. He was undercover, it had been three months and he was finally allowed into the inner circle, allowed to play on the high stakes table. He had spent months researching and learning how to play. Amanda had taught him all the tricks she knew, as did his sister Gina, who was also quite the card shark.

It was Gina’s fault he had been pushed into this world in the first place. His sweet sisters newest fiance, Alan White, had a gambling addiction which soon became a problem. He had found himself losing more often than winning which lead to him being in a spot of trouble with the owner of the establishment that Sonny currently found himself frequenting. 

His involvement had been quite sudden. One afternoon Gina came barrelling into the station, hands shaking and furious. Her fiance had lost big - ten thousand more than they could afford. To top it off, he had lipstick on his collar and smelt of cheap perfume. Alan swore up and down that he had not been involved with any of the girls who worked there, they were all far too young for him, practically children.

That was when SVU got involved.

After a few weeks of thorough investigation they had been able to determine that an underground gambling den was also being used to traffic underage girls. It turned out that Vice had their eyes on the Underground for months, they had even had someone under for months, until their officer had been made as a cop. He was found days after he was supposed to have checked in, beaten and bloody on the steps of the local precinct.

Several days later Sonny had been sent undercover.

He was introduced as a friend of Alan’s. They were suspicious at first, but a few months later he had made a name for himself. He was known as a semi-decent player who tended to lose when the pressure was on. The regulars loved him.

So here he was, after months of work and preparation, sitting at the high stakes table. Clearly luck was on his side, as earlier the same evening he had received confirmation that Stephen Rossi, the leader of the sex trafficking ring, was here tonight. The building was surrounded and Vice and SVU officers were all waiting for Sonny to give the signal when Rossi was in the building.

Sonny was half concentrating on the game unfolding in front of him. He tried to laugh and joke alongside the other players whilst hiding his focus on scanning the room for Rossi. He unintentionally won a hand to the other players despair when he first noticed a well dressed man entering the room. Sonny had never seen the man before. If he had, Sonny would have recognised him in an instant. He was strikingly handsome and wore well tailored suit and vest. 

Sonny watched intently as the man walked across the room. He greeted several of the regulars as old friends. He did a quick lap of the room, feigning interest in the various games being played before he finally made his way towards the piano that was tucked in the corner.

The man slowly slid himself onto the piano stool, long fingers ghosting across the keys, caressing them gently, before he finally lifted them to play. The melody was simple but still sent shivers down Sonny’s spine, though it wasn’t until the man leaned forward and sang into the microphone that the detective knew he was gone. His voice was unusual, sounded more theatrical than the singer’s Sonny was used to listening to.

When the man looked up, he seemed to sweep his eyes over the room, as though seeking something, someone out, as though he knew that Sonny was intently watching him. The detective couldn’t help but study the curves of his face, the slope of his smile, the curve of his smirk. As the song ended the man’s eyes finally settled on Sonny, and he threw a wink before he finished with a flourish. If Sonny wasn’t currently tied to the table he would be chasing after the man, begging for his attention, but the case took precedence. 

All thoughts of the mysterious pianist were pushed to the back of his mind as soon as Rossi walked into the room. Unlike the other man, Rossi looked a mess, his clothes a size too big for him and covered in stains. He looks an eyesore after the man who came before him and not at all like someone who runs a trafficking ring. 

Sonny buckled down and focused as he pretended to be interested in the game. This time his hand was decent, but there was no way he was going to win, nor did he want to try. He quickly folded before he attempted to  make an excuse to leave the table. His fellow players didn’t believe him, instead they teased him over his obvious appreciation of the pianist.

Now Sonny had a name for the mysterious man with the handsome face - Rafael Barba. 

He laughed off their teasing and listened to their advice, Rafael would be loitering in the back if Sonny wished to seek him out. Sonny thanked them before he stood up, left the table and headed into the corridor. Once he was a safe distance from the other club patrons he dialled Benson’s burner phone and told her the code line, letting her know that it was time to storm the place.

Sonny turned to make his way back into the den, when he felt a hand yank him into a closet. The detective wanted to struggle, to make a noise. He froze when felt someone’s hot breath ghosting against his lips. Rafael Barba was before him, his viridian eyes on him, asking a question; was it okay to proceed. Sonny lunged forward, capturing the pretty mouth with his own. The kiss was electric; he wanted to devour Rafael, claim him as his own.

Soon the detective felt the man’s hands at his belt, he frantically whispered a question in Sonny’s ear. Though his brain was clouded by lust, Sonny could manage a simple  _ yes _ . Then Rafael dropped to his knees. 

Before Sonny could comprehend anything, his pants were being slid down his thighs and Rafael had swallowed him whole. The detective was a babbling, incoherent mess, the dark mysterious man was bringing him to the point of ecstasy faster than Sonny cared to admit. 

Then it was over, Sonny came with a muffled moan, cerulean eyes locked with emerald. As he came down from his high, he felt his pants being pulled back over his hips. Sonny pulled the man up to his feet, lifted his chin and kissed him, he relished the taste of himself in Rafael’s mouth.

Sonny dropped to his knees faster and with less grace than he would have liked, but it didn’t seem to bother Rafael, who had already threaded long fingers through Sonny’s hair. Rafael was commanding. He knew exactly what he wanted and expertly guided Sonny until he was quietly moaning through his own release. 

All too soon the moment was gone and Rafael was tugging Sonny to his feet. Another quick kiss, and Rafael’s liquid gold voice whispered a _ thank you _ into Sonny’s ear. He threw Sonny a wink before disappearing, out of the closet and into the world outside. Sonny gathered himself together, ensured he was properly dressed, brushed the dirt off his knees, and quickly headed back into the main room. 

It was chaos.

The room was in panic, it had been flooded with light and police officers were everywhere. He saw Amanda approach him, her gun drawn and shouting at him to get down. For the second time he dropped to his knees, letting his colleague arrest him and throw him into the back of the police van with the other patrons.

He spent hours in the cell, ignoring the fights which broke out between his fellow prisoners, the taste of Rafael still on his lips. Sonny had been unable to spot the man during the earlier chaos, though thoughts of him, his face, his hands, his mouth, kept creeping back into Sonny’s mind. When he was finally released, Sonny was walked straight into the Lieutenants office for debriefing.

Benson looked pleased with herself, the leader of the sex trafficking ring was in interrogation and several of the young girls appeared to be more than happy to testify against him. It looked as though Stephen Rossi would be going away for a long time. Sonny had earned himself a clap on the shoulder from Fin, and a well done from Rollins.   


The Captain of Vice came tearing into the office, his face red, spit flying everywhere. He grabbed Sonny by the shoulders and shook him as he asked Sonny if he had seen the owner of the establishment. It appeared as though he hadn’t been rounded up with the rest of the patrons. Sonny made his excuses, that he was too focused on Rossi to pay attention to the other people in the room. The Captain cursed and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him. The name on the man’s lips caused Sonny’s heart to plummet, and his head to spin.

_ Rafael Barba _ .


End file.
